Del Kathryn Barton come deeper, 2015 Acrylic on french linen 160 x 140 cm Image courtesy of the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney Del Kathryn Barton’s detailed and vibrant paintings are a reverie of other-wordly figures, flora and fauna. Reinterpreting the decorative aesthetics of Art Nouveau with a wild, unfettered energy, her euphoric work explores the symbolic language of femininity. Interweaving references to traditional folklore and the cosmos, Del’s practice is grounded in self-referentiality, drawing from an emotional inner world. Del Kathryn Barton has been exhibiting since 1995. In 2013, Barton was awarded the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ Archibald Prize for the second time with a portrait of actor Hugo Weaving. In 2012, a solo exhibition of Del’s work was presented at the Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne. She has also been included in notable groups exhibitions, such as Dark Heart, 2014 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide (2014), Express Yourself, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (2014), Australia: Contemporary Voices, The Fine Art Society, London. (2013), Louise Bourgeois and Australian Artists, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne (2012), Theatre of the World, Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart (2012), Lightness and Gravity, Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane (2012), Wilderness, Balnaves Contemporary Painting, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (2010) and Feminism Never Happened, Institute of Modern Art (IMA), Brisbane (2010). Barton’s work is represented in major museum collections in Australia, including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, the Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide and the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), Hobart.
